Paul Heinrich Dietrich von Holbach is a French philosopher of German descent, writer, encyclopedist and an outstanding figure in the French Enlightenment. One of the famous sayings is “To make others happy is the surest way to become happy in this world; to be virtuous is to take care of the happiness of your own kind”
Biography
Paul Henry was born December 8, 1723 in Edesheim, near Landau in the Rhine Palatinate in the family of Catherine Holbach and Johann Jacob Dietrich. Historians do not agree on the date of birth of Holbach. The exact birthday is unknown, but the records found that he was baptized in December 1723. Mother was the daughter of the prince-bishop for the Roman Catholic eparchy in Speyer, Johann Jacob Holbach. She died when her son was 7 years old. Father is a small merchant-winemaker.
Paul was raised in Paris by his maternal uncle, Franz Adam Holbach, who was a very wealthy man who made his fortunes by trading on the Paris Stock Exchange. The Frenchman also managed to serve in the French army from the end of the 17th century, and having distinguished himself in the wars of Louis XIV, he received the baronial title. It was from his uncle that the future great philosopher received a surname, a baronial title and a significant fortune, which later allowed him to devote his life to scientific activity.
Holbach, Jr. studied at Leiden University from 1744 to 1748, receiving financial support from his uncle. Thanks to his perseverance and diligence, he quickly mastered French and English, studied Latin and Greek. He was fascinated by ancient authors, whose works he reread from time to time. In 1753, Holbach's uncle and father died, leaving him a significant fortune and the Heeze Castle.
Paul remained rich all his life, wisely managing the abandoned inheritance. On December 11, 1750, he married Basil-Geneva d'Ain, but family life did not last long: in 1754, his wife died from an illness unknown at that time. The distraught Holbach briefly moved to the province with his friend Baron Grimm, and the next year he decided to marry the late wife's sister Charlotte-Suzanne d'Ain. From the first marriage, a son, Francois Nikolai, was born, and from the second marriage, a son, Charles-Marius, and two daughters, Amelie-Suzanne and Louise-Pauline.
Activities and Views
After graduation, Paul Henri Golbach returned to Paris, where he was lucky to meet Denis Diderot, a French writer and philosopher-educator. This acquaintance, and later friendship, played a huge role in the life and work of both thinkers. At the time of his return to Paris, Holbach was already experienced in matters of philosophy. Diderot had a wide and comprehensive education, which enabled him to become the organizer and editor-in-chief of Encyclopedie, the largest reference publication that paved the way for the French Revolution. Paul was the author and translator of a large number of articles on various topics - from politics and religion to chemistry and mineralogy. Like a German who became a naturalized Frenchman, he translated many modern German works of natural philosophy into French. The total great philosopher introduced about four hundred articles into the project, mainly on scientific topics, and was also the editor of several volumes on natural philosophy.
In the family of Francois Adam de Holbach, religion was not held in high esteem; the spirit of free thought reigned everywhere. This influenced the bulk of the work that he subsequently released. His philosophy was clearly materialistic and atheistic. In 1761, the work "Christianisme devoile" appeared, in which Christianity and religion as a whole are directly attacked as an obstacle to the development of mankind.
Most of Holbach's works were published anonymously or under false names, which was done in order to avoid prosecution for bold statements and thoughts. His most famous work, "Le Systeme de la nature", was no exception. A philosophical work describing the universe in terms of the principles of materialism was released under the name of Jean-Baptiste de Mirabeau, a deceased member of the French Academy of Sciences. It was an enlightenment that represented an extensive and completely naturalistic view of the world.
The philosopher did not ignore the issues of politics, morality, and also wrote a lot about his economic views. He strongly criticized the abuse of power in France and abroad. However, contrary to the revolutionary spirit of the time, he urged the educated classes to reform the corrupt system of government. His political and ethical views were influenced by British materialist Thomas Hobbes. Holbach personally translated his work "De Homine" into French.
Paul Henry supported the theory of "non-interference" of the state and called on the government to prevent a dangerous concentration of wealth among several people. He criticized the French government’s current policy of allowing private individuals to collect taxes. He also believed that religious groups should be voluntary organizations without any government support.
